John t



v J.'T. GATHRIGHT. Trace-Carrier and Back-Band Buckle.

No. 198,800. Patented Jan, 1,1878.

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1 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFIoE.

JOHN T. GATHRIGHT, OF LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY.-

.IMPROVEMENT IN TRACE-CARRIER AND BAGK-B AND BUCK LE.

Specification f0rming part of Letters Patent No. 198,800, dated January 1, 1878; application filed October 18, 1877.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, JOHN T. GATHRIGHT, of the city of Louisville, in the countybf J efferson, in the State of Kentucky, have invented an Improved Back-Band Buckle and Trace-Hook Combined, of which the following is a specification:

My invention relates, first, to the construction of the buckle in the general and convenient form of a parallelogram, having three parallel cross-bars, with interspaces between them, the whole, together with the trace-hook, being cast in one piece; secondly, to constructing the buckle-flame with a third or fourth of the middle portion of the length of the top and middle bars left out in casting, in order to secure lightness in the device, to save material, and to effect convenience in the use of it with reference to the trace-hook, as hereinafter described; thirdly, to casting the tracehook with its base upon the middle portion of the lower bar A, and having it curved forward nearly into the form of a semicircle, so that its upper end will stand nearly at right angles to the back-band, a little below the lower edges of the upper cross-bars, and project as far as the inner face of that bar.,

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 represents a front view of my device as it would appear in position upon a back-band in use, and Fig. 2 a cross-section of the same.

0 O are the outer portions of the upper cross bar; B B, the like portions of the middle bar;

A A, the base-bar, extending up on the right and left, to form side bars F F of the frame of the buckle; and D the trace-hook, and d d d d the teeth on the middle bar, to take hold of the material of the back-band and keep it from slipping after it has once been.

inserted.

Now, to mount the device' upon one end of the back-band, the end of the back-band is inserted from the under side between the top short barsG G and the point t of the hook D above and the middle short bars B B below, and then bent down upon the front sides of the middle short bars, and passed between them and the base-bar A A, and after it has been inserted as far as desired it may be then drawn back to fix the teeth (1 d d cl into its material, where it will remain fast.

The middle bars .13 B afford ample surface I space for their teeth, and the upper short bars chain has been once placed over its point it cannot be thrown or taken out again, except by pressing with the hand against the yielding material of the band inwardly, and at the same time forcing the link up along the hook and aroimd its curve to the point I, and then raising it out from between the two.

If the top bars 0 C were in one bar, extending across the frame of the buckle, this peculiar lock against accidental and automatic detachment of the trace could not be effected.

The spaces'between the bars B B and A A may be much wider than those between B. B and O G, to facilitate the insertion of the end of the back-band when the device is being mounted. a

This buckle and hook may, of course, be used for suspenders upon mens pants and for many other like purposes, and it may be made of any suitable metal or other substance having the requisite qualities.-

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The back-band buckle composed of the straight lowermost cross-bar A A, side bars F F, two pairs of short cross'bars, B B and G 0, cast of such length as to leave central spaces between the inner ends of each pair, and the trace-hook D, cast upon the lowermost bar A A, and having such form that its base or lowermost part shall not extend below said bar, substantially as shown and described.

2. The back-band buckle with the central portion of the bar 0 0 left out in casting, and the trace-hook D, as constructed with reference thereto, the point of the hook serving to keep the middle portion of the hand down in place, and at the same time forming a lock therewith, to prevent accidental or automatic detachment of the link of the trace-chain, substantially as described.

JOHN T. GATHRIGHT.

Witnesses SoL. LAZARUS,

J. B. DUNLAP. 

